- Annuska Derks is a Social Anthropologist with extensive research experience in Southeast Asia, in particular Cambodia, Vietnam and Thailand.edit
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Despite the multiple usages of star anise, a spice harvested from trees native to northeast Vietnam and southeast China, and notwithstanding its potential as a ‘flex crop’ due to being a key component in the pharmaceutical production of... more
Despite the multiple usages of star anise, a spice harvested from trees native to northeast Vietnam and southeast China, and notwithstanding its potential as a ‘flex crop’ due to being a key component in the pharmaceutical production of the anti-influenza drug Tamiflu, little is known about who cultivates this spice and how it reaches consumers around the world. Putting commodity chain analysis literature into conversation with recent ‘flex crop’ debates, we analyse the roles of actors along star anise commodity chains originating in rural, upland northern Vietnam. Our qualitative fieldwork reveals the intricate and idiosyncratic nature of these commodity chains upon which ethnic minority cultivator livelihoods depend, and which connect uplands and lowlands through manifold linkages. Cultivators, intermediaries, wholesalers, exporters and marketplace traders are constantly having to renegotiate their positions along these chains to maintain viable livelihoods due to uncertain financial returns and shifting demands. Adding to livelihood insecurities, financial gains have fluctuated wildly over time. The segmented knowledge individuals have of these commodity chains keep many in a vulnerable position, while the Vietnamese state's approach to promoting this commodity as a way to improve local livelihoods is questionable.
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This paper explores the links between migration and changes in household agricultural production in Vietnam during the reform period (1986–2012) through a case study of Quỳnh Đôi village, Nghệ An Province. Since reforms were first... more
This paper explores the links between migration and changes in household agricultural production in Vietnam during the reform period (1986–2012) through a case study of Quỳnh Đôi village, Nghệ An Province. Since reforms were first introduced, many villagers have left Quỳnh Đôi to work in cities, industrial zones or to find employment abroad. The migration process has transformed labour structures and supply, leading to changes in household agricultural production across two dimensions. First, renting or exchanging agricultural land has become common between households in Quỳnh Đôi, and between Quỳnh Đôi villagers and a neighbouring commune. This renting/exchanging of agricultural land has helped redistribute land among households that would otherwise be rich in land and poor in labour, or vice versa. These transactions have not been purely market-based but carried out mainly through verbal agreements dependent on networks of social capital and trust. Second, because many farm labour...
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This article focuses on the beehive coal briquette in Vietnam. Although apparently an ordinary cooking fuel, the author argues that this briquette is a perfect object for exploring the unfolding and experiences of Đổi mới, the economic... more
This article focuses on the beehive coal briquette in Vietnam. Although apparently an ordinary cooking fuel, the author argues that this briquette is a perfect object for exploring the unfolding and experiences of Đổi mới, the economic and social reform processes launched in 1986. The author takes a biographical approach as she traces the beehive coal briquette from its birth to its rise and demise as a cooking fuel in Vietnam. Along the way, the article explores the diverse interactions and relations between objects, humans and nature, and their unequal outcomes. The example of the beehive coal briquette shows how everyday things not only reflect social change and vice-versa but can also produce change.
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This article focuses on the beehive coal briquette in Vietnam. Although apparently an ordinary cooking fuel, the author argues that this briquette is a perfect object for exploring the unfolding and experiences of Đổi mới, the economic... more
This article focuses on the beehive coal briquette in Vietnam. Although apparently an ordinary cooking fuel, the author argues that this briquette is a perfect object for exploring the unfolding and experiences of Đổi mới, the economic and social reform processes launched in 1986. The author takes a biographical approach as she traces the beehive coal briquette from its birth to its rise and demise as a cooking fuel in Vietnam. Along the way, the article explores the diverse interactions and relations between objects, humans and nature, and their unequal outcomes. The example of the beehive coal briquette shows how everyday things not only reflect social change and vice-versa but can also produce change.
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Research Interests:
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... Stitching Identities in a Free Trade Zone: Gender and Politics in Sri Lanka by Sandya Hewamanne.Annuska Derks. Article first published online: 19 MAY 2010. ... Get PDF (210K). More content like this. Find more content: like this... more
... Stitching Identities in a Free Trade Zone: Gender and Politics in Sri Lanka by Sandya Hewamanne.Annuska Derks. Article first published online: 19 MAY 2010. ... Get PDF (210K). More content like this. Find more content: like this article. Find more content written by: Annuska Derks ...
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From back cover: 'Khmer Women on the Move' offers a fascinating ethnography of young Cambodian women who move from the countryside to work in Cambodia’s capital city, Phnom Penh. Female migration and urban employment are rising,... more
From back cover:
'Khmer Women on the Move' offers a fascinating ethnography of young Cambodian women who move from the countryside to work in Cambodia’s capital city, Phnom Penh. Female migration and urban employment are rising, triggered by Cambodia’s transition from a closed socialist system to an open market economy. This book challenges the dominant views of these young rural women—that they are controlled by global economic forces and national development policies or trapped by restrictive customs and Cambodia’s tragic history. The author shows instead how these women shape and influence the processes of change taking place in present-day Cambodia.
Based on field research among women working in the garment industry, prostitution, and street trading, the book explores the complex interplay between their experiences and actions, gender roles, and the broader historical context. The focus on women involved in different kinds of work allows new insight into women’s mobility, highlighting similarities and differences in working conditions and experiences. Young women’s ability to utilize networks of increasing size and complexity allows them to move into and between geographic and social spaces that extend far beyond the village context. Women’s mobility is further expressed in the flexible patterns of behavior that young rural women display when trying to fulfill their own "modern" aspirations along with their family obligations and cultural ideals.
'Khmer Women on the Move' offers a fascinating ethnography of young Cambodian women who move from the countryside to work in Cambodia’s capital city, Phnom Penh. Female migration and urban employment are rising, triggered by Cambodia’s transition from a closed socialist system to an open market economy. This book challenges the dominant views of these young rural women—that they are controlled by global economic forces and national development policies or trapped by restrictive customs and Cambodia’s tragic history. The author shows instead how these women shape and influence the processes of change taking place in present-day Cambodia.
Based on field research among women working in the garment industry, prostitution, and street trading, the book explores the complex interplay between their experiences and actions, gender roles, and the broader historical context. The focus on women involved in different kinds of work allows new insight into women’s mobility, highlighting similarities and differences in working conditions and experiences. Young women’s ability to utilize networks of increasing size and complexity allows them to move into and between geographic and social spaces that extend far beyond the village context. Women’s mobility is further expressed in the flexible patterns of behavior that young rural women display when trying to fulfill their own "modern" aspirations along with their family obligations and cultural ideals.
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This paper will consider two levels within the study of the Cuban revolution: the meta-narratives of change and continuity that determine the academic literature on Cuba and inform political positioning in relation to the revolution,... more
This paper will consider two levels within the study of the Cuban revolution: the meta-narratives of change and continuity that determine the academic literature on Cuba and inform political positioning in relation to the revolution, and the methodological challenges in understanding how people in Cuba experience change and continuity in their daily life. Transformation and continuity have been the two dominant analytical tropes used to interpret Cuban social and political life since the overthrow of the Batista regime in 1959. For Cuban scholars and politicians, a focus on change in reference to what was Cuba’s reality before the Revolution is a continuous concern and a powerful discursive mechanism in redefining and reinvigorating the revolutionary project. Simultaneously, in periods of crisis throughout the 62 years since the revolution, the capacity to demonstrate continuity with revolutionary principles while developing new mechanisms to redefine the political project has ensur...
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This open access book provides methodological devices and analytical frameworks for the study of societies in transformation. It explores a central paradox in the study of change: making sense of change requires long-term perspectives on... more
This open access book provides methodological devices and analytical frameworks for the study of societies in transformation. It explores a central paradox in the study of change: making sense of change requires long-term perspectives on societal transformations and on the different ways people experience social change, whereas the research carried out to study change is necessarily limited to a relatively short space of time. This volume offers a range of methodological responses to this challenge by paying attention to the complex entanglement of qualitative research and the metanarratives generally used to account for change. Each chapter is based on a concrete case study from different parts of the world and tackles a diversity of topics, analytical approaches, and data collection methods. The contributors’ innovative solutions provide valuable tools and techniques for all those interested in the study of change.
This open access book can be downloaded for free: https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007%2F978-3-030-65067-4
This open access book can be downloaded for free: https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007%2F978-3-030-65067-4
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In this introductory chapter the authors discuss ways of studying change that go beyond a chronology of events and sweeping laws of evolution and that take into account the ways in which people live through, experience, desire, create,... more
In this introductory chapter the authors discuss ways of studying change that go beyond a chronology of events and sweeping laws of evolution and that take into account the ways in which people live through, experience, desire, create, and challenge change. How can we‚ at the same time‚ gain a longue durée perspective on societal transformations and give a truthful account of the ways our different interlocutors describe, name, and understand the changes they are living and the kinds of future they expect? The authors first situate this question within broader disciplinary debates, focusing particularly on debates in anthropology and its focus on studying history and change through ethnography. Ethnography is a crucial instrument for uncovering and analyzing the relationship between emic and etic perspectives of change, as well as the complex and often contradictory interplay of continuity and change beyond linear periodization and teleological presuppositions. The authors argue for...
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This chapter focuses on those who produce, distribute and use an everyday, but increasingly shunned cooking fuel, the beehive coal briquette. It looks in particular at the inter-linkages between people, things and places along the... more
This chapter focuses on those who produce, distribute and use an everyday, but increasingly shunned cooking fuel, the beehive coal briquette. It looks in particular at the inter-linkages between people, things and places along the briquetting chain. By tracing the journey of the coal briquette backwards, from the stove to the trolley in which it is transported and to the production site in which it is made, the chapter illustrates how the changing uses and meanings of place and space impact dynamics and networks of small-scale commercial activities in urban Vietnam.
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In this introductory chapter the authors discuss ways of studying change that go beyond a chronology of events and sweeping laws of evolution and that take into account the ways in which people live through, experience, desire, create,... more
In this introductory chapter the authors discuss ways of studying change that go beyond a chronology of events and sweeping laws of evolution and that take into account the ways in which people live through, experience, desire, create, and challenge change. How can we‚ at the same time‚ gain a longue durée perspective on societal transformations and give a truthful account of the ways our different interlocutors describe, name, and understand the changes they are living and the kinds of future they expect? The authors first situate this question within broader disciplinary debates, focusing particularly on debates in anthropology and its focus on studying history and change through ethnography. Ethnography is a crucial instrument for uncovering and analyzing the relationship between emic and etic perspectives of change, as well as the complex and often contradictory interplay of continuity and change beyond linear periodization and teleological presuppositions. The authors argue for a combination of multiple methods of investigation that borrow from both ethnography and other methods of data collection and analysis, and for an analytical framework that articulates three levels of analysis: the unit of analysis, the empirical data and the metanarratives of change. This open access chapter can be downloaded for free: https://link.springer.com/chapter/
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Sensationalist headlines and emotive stories tend to dominate the picture of trafficking in the South-East Asian context, though many serious efforts have also been undertaken to analyse the problem. Indeed, trafficking has become a major... more
Sensationalist headlines and emotive stories tend to dominate the picture of trafficking in the South-East Asian context, though many serious efforts have also been undertaken to analyse the problem. Indeed, trafficking has become a major concern to all countries in the region. There are, however, large variations in how these countries are affected by trafficking. The patterns, extent, and nature of trafficking are dependent on the economic, political, social and historical position of these countries on the global and regional level. For a better understanding of these diverse trafficking situations, it is important to review the broader context of trafficking, not only within this specific region, but also regarding the trafficking debate in general and the various approaches developed to counter it.
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Trafficking patterns and processes have connected many of the countries within as well as outside the South-East Asian region. Therefore, several responses and instruments have been developed on the international, regional and bilateral... more
Trafficking patterns and processes have connected many of the countries within as well as outside the South-East Asian region. Therefore, several responses and instruments have been developed on the international, regional and bilateral levels, while receiving countries and regions outside of the South-East Asian region have also undertaken initiatives to combat trafficking. This part of our report focuses on the trafficking situation within the South-East Asian region and the diverse cooperative and regional initiatives developed to counter it.
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This paper explores the links between migration and changes in household agricultural production in Vietnam during the reform period (1986–2012) through a case study of Quỳnh Đôi village, Quỳnh Lưu District, Nghệ An Province. Since... more
This paper explores the links between migration and changes in household agricultural production in Vietnam during the reform period (1986–2012) through a case study of Quỳnh Đôi village, Quỳnh Lưu District, Nghệ An Province. Since reforms were first introduced, many villagers have left Quỳnh Đôi to work in cities, industrial zones or to find employment abroad. The migration process has transformed labour structures and supply in many households, leading to changes in household agricultural production across two main dimensions. First, renting or exchanging agricultural land has become common between households in Quỳnh Đôi, and between Quỳnh Đôi villagers and villagers of Quỳnh Thanh – a neighbouring commune. This renting/exchanging of agricultural land has helped to re-distribute land among households that would otherwise be rich in land and poor in labour, or vice versa. These transactions have not been purely market-based but carried out mainly through verbal agreements, which d...
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The research team would like to thank the many representatives from local and international organizations who contributed to this systematic review process. We are grateful to those who shared research materials with us, and to those who... more
The research team would like to thank the many representatives from local and international organizations who contributed to this systematic review process. We are grateful to those who shared research materials with us, and to those who participated in consultative ...
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Research Interests: Migration and Switzerland
IOM is committed to the principle that humane and orderly migration benefits migrants and society. As an intergovernmental body, IOM acts with its partners in the international community to: assist in meeting the operational challenges of... more
IOM is committed to the principle that humane and orderly migration benefits migrants and society. As an intergovernmental body, IOM acts with its partners in the international community to: assist in meeting the operational challenges of migration; advance understanding of ...
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This survey on the trafficking of Vietnamese women and children to Cambodia is designed as a follow-up on the survey on the trafficking of Cambodian women and children to Thailand. 1 [1] Together, these surveys strive to gain more insight... more
This survey on the trafficking of Vietnamese women and children to Cambodia is designed as a follow-up on the survey on the trafficking of Cambodian women and children to Thailand. 1 [1] Together, these surveys strive to gain more insight into the crossborder ...